1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.
We are turning from our consideration of why we should pray, and especially why we should pray together, to look at why we should make use of another of the means of God's grace - His Word. We need to understand what it is, why God has given it to us and what He will do in our lives as believers through the truths contained in its pages. That will be our focus over the next year.
So let's begin by taking a look at our text. Paul is thankful to God for the reception that the Thessalonians gave to the message that he preached to them. This was because they had received his words not as the words of a mere man, but they had realized that Paul was delivering to them the Word of God, and they received it as such.
We become so familiar with handling the Bible and with listening to sermons that we can forget to receive what we read and hear in the way that the Thessalonians received Paul's preaching. The words that God caused to be preached by Paul and by the other Apostles and Prophets has been written down for us in the Bible.
When we carry this book in our hands, we need to realize it is not like any other book in existence. This book is the Word of God! It is the Almighty Creators' written communication to His creatures. What an amazing thing that we have free and unrestricted access to such a book! Because it is God's Word, it should be read as such (humbly, reverently and with a heart inclined to obey whatever He may command of us).
When we sit under Biblical preaching (as we shall see later in this series) although it is a mere man who does the speaking, it is Christ Himself Who speaks to His church through that man. We need to receive the message as the Word of God to us. We need to submit to its authority (provided this comes from the Word). We need to seek to amend our lives in the light of its doctrines and precepts.
If the President of the United States of America, or the Queen of England (or the highest ruling power in whatever country you may live in) wrote a letter to you and addressed it and caused it to be delivered into your hands, what would you do with it? Would you put it away in a desk drawer and say to yourself, "That's nice - I really must get around to opening that and reading it one day."? The idea is ridiculous. You would hurriedly open the envelope and eagerly read the words that this important person had sent you.
If the same person sent an ambassador to you with a special message, would you turn them away because you were busy that day with some recreation or other domestic chores? Again, it is unthinkable. You would welcome the person into your home and press them to deliver their message as fast as possible!
Now, therefore, understand this: the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the ruler of the whole Universe has both written to you and regularly sends messages to you by way of His ambassadors. In both cases the messages are of the utmost importance and contain matters of eternal significance. What a snub to Him to put His messages on one side for later perusal, to refuse to listen to His ambassadors, or to treat them as if they were just another book, just another spoken message!
At the beginning of this series, let's recalibrate our "receptors". Let's reflect on what the Bible is, on how precious are its contents. Let's meditate on the fact that God speaks through godly preachers, and let the outcome of these reflections and meditations be that we receive God's Word, whether written or preached, as the Thessalonians did - as being not the mere word of men but rather the Word of God (which it really is).
